PDF is Protected Please Enter A Permissions Password Error – Fixed
“My manager sent me a crucial business file, and when I edited it with Adobe Acrobat DC Pro, it prompted me with a message “PDF is protected, please enter a permission password” asking for the password. I don’t have any sort of password. Is there a way to edit that file without knowing the password? Please suggest a way out.”
“Everytime I click on the Editing button for a PDF file in Acrobat DC, a prompt asking for password pops up! It is really annoying. How can I avoid this prompt from getting over again? Please tell the manual workarounds.”
While accessing a PDF on Adobe Acrobat DC, users often come across the most common error “PDF is protected please enter a permissions password”. The influence of this particular error is owner level security which restricts you from editing, copy, printing and many other facilities. Get familiar with the causes and the perfect troubleshoot to enable the owner level permissions without password and even with the password.
PDF is Protected Please Enter A Permissions Password – Causes
Most probably, there are only two possibilities of encountering this error:
- Either you do not have the permission password for that file
- In the rarest case, if the password is correct and still the error is there, some corruption in the file can be responsible for it.
Let’s figure out the best solution to remove security permissions from PDF.
Methods to Remove Permission Password from PDF
The two scenarios of removing the PDF protections with password or without knowing the password, are elaborated below.
Scenario 1. Remove the Permission Error When You Know the Password
Follow the below manual steps to remove permission password from PDF from getting again and again.
Step 1. Open the PDF file using Acrobat Pro.
Step 2. Go to “Document” option in menu bar & >> choose “Security“.
Step 3. Now choose “Show Security Settings for This Document” option >> then hit on the “Security” tab
Step 4. Next, hit on “down” arrow on the “Security Method” option and change the “Password Security” setting into “No Security.”
Step 5. After that Enter the Permission Password & click the “OK” button.
Step 6. In the main menu bar, hit on “File” tab & >> click on “Save“.
Note: What the above steps will do is, next time any user opens & edits the file, the error message asking for password won’t be shown. Make sure to Save the file/document before exiting.
Scenario 2. Remove PDF Restrictions Without Password
When you do not have the password then how can you remove “PDF is Protected Please Enter A Permissions Password” error? There is no manual workaround to resolve this error message if you are not having the permission password. You got to take the help of third-party software.
PDF Password Unlocker tool is one trustworthy & safe service to enable permissions in a PDF document effortlessly. Not just that, the software supports a number of commendable or advantageous features. It includes unlock PDF file from Owner Level Password security, removes PDF comment & document assembly restrictions, etc., from Windows 10, 8, 7, and all below versions.
The software also supports to remove known user-level password lock from PDF documents. If the user wants to keep the original password in the resultant file then they can enable the option “Keep Source PDF Password in Output PDF”.
For Windows
For Mac
The below-mentioned steps can be followed with the help of this utility:
- Step 1: Download and Open this PDF utility
- Step 2: Now Add PDF Files that you want to make password free
- Step 3: Select either Save or Print option
- Step 4: Click on Change button and select Destination location
- Step 5: Click the Unlock button to start the process
- Step 6: Finally, the successful process completion message gets displayed
By following these steps the user has successfully unlock PDF for copying, editing, printing, etc.
Bottom Line
Performing various operations like editing, opening, copy on a PDF document becomes complex if we keep getting the restricting errors like “PDF is protected please enter a permissions password error”. The two robust workarounds have been discussed in the above section. Manual method to remove security permissions with password and automated technique i.e. by using software to remove file restrictions without password is analyzed. Users can easily figure out the scenario and then resolve it accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes with the help of the SysTools PDF File Unlocking Software you to easily eliminate permission passwords from Adobe PDF document.
This error message gets displayed when the PDF file is having owner level security.
No, the software preserves the integrity of the document while removing its permission password. The PDF file content or integrity is maintained throughout the process.